King Richard and the Duke of Gloucester….

There are two instances (of which I know) involving a Duke of Gloucester and a king called Richard. The one that is best known to Ricardians is Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who became Richard III. But there was another instance in the previous century, when Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, made the life of…

The downfall of Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester.

I have been trying to understand the downfall of Eleanor Cobham. Not because I plan to write about her (life is too short) but purely because I like to understand events clearly. Eleanor was, of course, the wife of Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, Henry VI‘s youngest and last surviving uncle. I have no doubt at…

Plunging necklines aren’t new….!

    When we think of women’s clothing in the medieval period, we don’t generally think of revealing necklines. Nay, plunging necklines! But if you go to this extremely interesting article  you’ll see some rather eye-opening illustrations. Some of these little off-the-shoulder numbers could be worn on red carpets today. Mind you, you couldn’t see…

King James VI of Scotland, James I of England podcast….

  Here is a link to a BBC podcast about King James VI of Scotland, who, of course, became James I of England and was the first of our Stuart monarchs. I can’t say I’m a Stuart expert, being much more interested in the Plantagenets, but a monarch is a monarch!

Royal History’s Biggest Fibs

Lucy Worsley, having covered the Wars of the Roses, the “Glorious Revolution” and Britain in India, has returned with a further series. This time, the episodes earlier this year having been about the Reformation, the Armada and Queen Anne, she covers the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, reversing the contemporaneous “spin” on the French Revolution, the…

Films about the monarchy in Britain….

Not that I think William Wallace counts as part of the British monarchy. I don’t believe Old Longshanks would have had any of that! Anyway, to read an article about films concerning various kings and queens, go here. But where’s King Arthur?????

MARGARET BEAUFORT, THE UNKNOWN REGENT

Recently it came up on Mastermind that Margaret Beaufort was once Regent of England. This surprised me as I had not heard this fact stated before.  Digging on the internet, it turns out it is indeed true. Henry VIII was not quite of age when he ascended the throne, although he was not far off,…

ENGLAND’S MINORITY KINGS 1216-1483

Introduction This essay was prompted by a sentence in John Ashdown-Hill’s latest book ‘The Private Life of Edward IV’: “ According to English custom, as the senior living adult prince of the blood royal, the duke of Gloucester should have acted as Regent — or Lord Protector as the role was then known in England…

The hero of Mortimer’s Cross and his family

Sir Richard Croft was Owain Glyn Dwr’s great-grandson and the battle was essentially fought on his land. The Crofts have remained an important family ever since, through Elizabeth I’s reign, the Civil War, the Regency and the Second World War, in several capacities, as you can see: Crofts The compiler of this genealogy can confirm…